NEW YORK — A new round of United Nations-backed peace talks for war-ravaged Syria is set to begin in Geneva next week, the office of the UN mediator late Monday said.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura office announced in a statement he will reconvene the Syrian peace negotiations between the regime and the opposition in Geneva on May 16.

It added, de Mistura voiced hope that the agreement reached last week in Astana among Russia, Iran and Turkey to set up "de-escalation" zones in Syria will be implemented in full "thus bringing about a significant de-escalation in violence, and helping shape an environment conducive to the political intra-Syrian talks in Geneva".

"In this round and subsequent ones, he is looking forward to intensified work with invitees on the items on agenda of the talks, within the context of the overall framework of relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 2254 (2015)," the statement said.

That resolution endorsed a road map for peace in the war-torn country and set out a timetable for talks.